Tracy Cortez Cut Her Hair to Make Weight For UFC Fight Against Rose Namajunas

Video of Tracy Cortez cutting her hair to make weight for UFC on ESPN 59.

Cortez during weigh ins for UFC 274. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Tracy Cortez will headline UFC on ESPN 59 on Saturday night in a flyweight fight against Rose Namajunas. Cortez was originally supposed to fight Miranda Maverick next week, but took the fight on short notice after Maycee Barber dropped out because of health problems. Without that extra week, Cortez had trouble making weight on Friday morning, first weighing in at 127 and then 126.5lbs.

After a second unsuccessful attempt, Cortez had to make a tough decision and ended up cutting her hair to lose the last half-pound, rather than forfeit part of her purse. Manager Tiki Ghosn handled the scissors.

Here's the moment Tracy Cortez had her hair chopped off to make weight for #UFCDenver ✂️ pic.twitter.com/J0EAZsjM7W

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 12, 2024

Cortez then returned to the scale and made 126lbs.

She cut off her hair to make weight! 126 #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/C01B7fYOTe

— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) July 12, 2024

Cortez comes into the fight with an 11-1 record and is undefeated in the UFC with a 5-0 record. She's coming off a decision win over Jasmine Jasudavicius in September. It's just Cortez's fifth fight since 2020.

Namajunas is coming off a five-round decision victory over Amanda Ribas in March. She carries a record of 12-6 (10-5 in the UFC) and is a four-time strawweight champion. After losing the belt to Carla Esparza in May 2022 she moved up to flyweight, where she lost her first fight in the division to Manon Fiorot in September 2023.